Archive for the Dental Implants Category

If you are heading towards tooth loss, you want to start thinking about how to replace those teeth now. Don’t kick back and think this is something that you can deal with this year, next year, sometime or never. Here’s why, at The Old Windsor Dental Practice, we encourage our patients to get the ball rolling as soon as possible:

Tooth loss means bone loss

When you lose a tooth, the bone and gum in the area of the jaw it is gone from start to shrink back almost immediately. It can take as little as one year to lose as much as 25% of your jawbone size and density in the gap where your tooth was. If you are losing a lot of teeth, you are looking at a shrunken jaw and a pointy chin in the not-too-distant future. This bone loss is because there is no tooth root sending down vibrations from impacts with opposing teeth. These vibrations tell the bone your teeth are still in action. Without them, your jawbone dissolves itself.

What does this mean for replacement teeth?

Bone loss is an important factor to bear in mind when you are deciding what kind of replacement teeth to go for. Only dental implants in Windsor replace the roots of your teeth. Dentures and fixed bridges only replace the crowns. So, when considering which method of tooth replacement to go for, it’s very important to think about your jawbone and facial structure.

Chewing

Another important factor is your ability to chew and bite. Dental implants in Windsor give you back your full chewing power. This is important because it’s often the more difficult to chew foods that contain the most nutrition. Think nuts, raw vegetables, fresh fruits, meats.

Dental implants last for at least 15 years, and often for life. Dentures and fixed bridges need to be replaced every 3-10 years. When you factor in replacement costs, dental implants can often work out the same price.

Losing your natural teeth can be quite overwhelming, whether it’s a single tooth or several. From conventional solutions to innovative alternatives such as dental implants, the choice is plenty and it can be hard to weigh the benefits and the disadvantages of each treatment.

At Old Windsor Dental Practice, we firmly believe that dental implants in Windsor are the best solution for tooth loss – however, we suggest scheduling a consultation with our implant dentist to ensure that this is the right treatment for you. Many of our patients have questions about the practical function of dental implants, including their maintenance. In general, dental implants do not require special care in order to remain strong and healthy, but you may wish to consider doing some things differently if you want to stay on top of your implant care maintenance.

Explaining the function of dental implants

Dental implants are tiny, biocompatible, titanium posts which are surgically inserted into the upper and/or lower jawbone. Over time, the bone tissue fuses with the implant through a process known as ‘osseointegration’. This process is made possible because of the natural integration of the bone to the titanium. Once this process is over and the dental implant has healed, your dentist will restore the visible structure of your teeth by inserting crowns, dentures or bridges on top of your dental implants in Windsor.

Caring for dental implants – should I be doing things differently?

After your implant surgery, your dentist will give you specific instructions on how to take good care of your implant sites until you receive your restoration teeth. These instructions are easy to follow and ensure that your dental implants will integrate into the jawbone without any problems. Once you receive your replacement teeth, you do not need to change your oral hygiene routine. However, you need to be very careful and practice diligent oral hygiene. Although dental implants in Windsor, cannot be affected by tooth decay, they are still prone to gum disease, which can lead to implant failure. Establishing a good oral hygiene regime and visiting the dentist frequently, will help you stay on top of your oral health.

Dentures, as we all know, do not act the same as our natural teeth. Although modern denture look great and mimic your natural teeth, they are removable and can take time getting used to, they will need maintenance to prevent bad breath or gum disease. However, dentures can now be fixed in place due to advances in dental implant technology.

Dental implants are small screws that are placed in the jawbone during simple surgery, normally under local anaesthetic. They are made of surgical grade titanium, which is treated by the body as natural bone. This means your bone, gum and even blood vessels will grow around the implant. They provide a durable, strong base for your dentures to be fixed onto. This means your dentures act like your natural teeth, no longer requiring removal for cleaning.

Dentures are used for replacing several or all your teeth, however if you’ve lost only one, a crown will be fitted instead. Either way, your crowns or dentures will be matched to your natural teeth and no one will know that you have false teeth. What’s more, because they are fixed in place securely to your jawbone, dental implants will function as your natural teeth. This means you can eat and drink anything you wish, and you don’t have to compromise your lifestyle due to missing teeth. It’s a second shot at having a natural smile and if you follow a good dental oral hygiene routine, including brushing and flossing, and you come for regular dental check-ups, there’s no reason they wouldn’t last you a life time.

How can I receive my dental implants

In Berkshire, dental implants can be discussed during a consultation at The Old Windsor Dental Practice. We will assess the health of your jawbone and ensure that implants will work effectively for you. Any preparation work will be carried out, including addressing any gum health issues and your surgery will be set. You’ll then have surgery, and once the implants are in place, your dentures can be fixed in place and you can get on with enjoying your life, although you will need to be careful about what you eat for several weeks while your implants integrate.

When you experience a missing tooth, it can come as a shock. It feels different, and perhaps more significantly, it can significantly alter the look of your smile. Here at The Old Windsor Dental Practice, we offer dental implants that will restore your smile and provide many long-lasting benefits to your oral health.

More than just a confident smile

Going for dental implants doesn’t just boost your confidence in your appearance, it’ll put faith back into the ability and health of your teeth.

The teeth work as a set, and when one is missing, it can risk weakening the remaining teeth. Going for dental implants in Windsor can improve your ability to chew and properly digest food, prevent problems with your surrounding teeth, avoid a ‘shrunken jaw’, and generally improve your oral health and overall well-being.

Why dental implants over other treatment?

While dental implants in Windsor aren’t suitable to everyone, they are a popular option for those who are looking to fix a gap in their smile, as they hold benefits over other treatments such as bridges and dentures, for example:

They are often more predictable than other treatments, allowing you to have a sense of the overall result and knowing what to expect

They don’t affect the healthy remaining teeth by using them for stablity

They protect healthy bone by preventing bone loss

They allow you to eat and speak without having to think about uncomfortable removable dentures

They look natural, as the implant acts as the root of the tooth, providing a solution that most closely mimics the natural teeth

They provide a long-lasting solution, lasting upwards of 25 years.

How to dental implants work?

The journey of going for dental implants in Windsor goes as follows:

Appointment: an in-depth consultation to see if you are suitable and plan your treatment

Surgery: the implant is inserted into the jawbone under local anesthetic

Healing: it is then left to heal and mesh with the jawbone, taking around 3 months

The tooth: finally, the crown is placed on the tooth by means of an abutment. It is made to match the rest of the teeth in size, shape, and colour.

It’s that time of year again. Summer is on the way out and we are starting to think about Sunday roasts with all the trimmings. Crackling, roast potatoes and when it gets to Christmas, there’ll be nuts to tuck into too. Or will there? Can your replacement teeth cope with all that? Or will you have to make do with mash, stews and pass on the nuts altogether? Losing teeth doesn’t have to be this way; you can put everything back on the menu when you have dental implants to replace lost teeth with us at Old Windsor Dental Practice in Berkshire.

Dental implants are super-stable because they are embedded into the jawbone, where they fuse with the jawbone. Made of titanium, dental implants are highly biocompatible, and the body welcomes them, rather than rejecting them, by growing new bone cells and blood vessels all over them. It’s not quite the same biology as a tooth held in place in its socket by fibres, but it works just as well, unlike other methods of replacement, which are not as stable. Dentures can’t handle more than about a quarter of the pressure exerted by normal chewing, which is why so many denture wearers end up on a soft food diet and can’t remember the last time they were able to bite into an apple.

Dental implants also last a good long time. Their only enemy is gum disease, which, if left to advance, can attack the gums and then the bone holding the implants in place, so it’s important to be assiduous with dental care. Brush carefully twice a day for 2 minutes with a fluoride toothpaste. Floss well, making sure to go under the gums to remove plaque. Use interdental brushes to remove trapped food. And it’s also very important to have regular deep cleans with the dental hygienist to remove all the plaque you can’t get at.

If you do all this, you will find that your dental implants could last for decades. You may find that you need to replace the porcelain crown part because they do wear out, but the posts should be fine. Some people have had theirs in place for 50 years now.

Losing one or more teeth can be devastating. You may feel like you’ll never be able to eat, speak or smile normally again. The long-term implications for your oral health are pretty bad too. If you have lost one or more teeth, getting them replaced is a priority, not only because gaps look bad, but also because you need to prevent further problems occurring. Luckily, here at The Old Windsor Dental Practice, dental implants in Windsor can save you from the embarrassment and health complications of missing teeth.

Why are dental implants in Windsor so good?

Dental implants in Windsor look like real teeth. They feel like real teeth. They function like real teeth. You can even maintain them just like your real teeth. A thorough brush and floss every day is what you need to do to keep them in good condition. People with dental implants often tell us that nobody notices that their teeth are not real. You may even forget that you’ve had the implants after a while because they are so realistic and natural-feeling. You’ll be able to talk normally, smile normally, eat normally. What more could you want from a tooth replacement? Some other tooth replacement options such as bridges or dentures simply cannot offer the same benefits as dental implants in Windsor.

What are dental implants exactly?

Dental implants are replacement tooth roots made of titanium. They are implanted into your jawbone. The titanium implant will be accepted by your body. Your bone and gums will heal around it. The implant has a part that sticks out above your gums. This is what we attach your tooth replacement to. Your replacement tooth is colour matched to your other teeth. It can be nice to have your teeth whitened before getting dental implants. This way your implants will be colour-matched to a brighter set of teeth.

Will getting dental implants be painful?

Of course, you will experience some pain with dental implants. However, the treatment is not nearly as bad as you may expect. Patients say it feels much like getting a big filling. Call us today to find out how we could help you with dental implants in Windsor.

Having a missing tooth can add a certain element of danger to your look. It can give off an edgy, piratey, ‘I’ve lived to tell a few tales’, kind of a vibe. All well and good if you want to appear a bit mysterious, but not so great for your health.

You may believe that having one missing tooth is no big deal, there’s another 31 in there, so what’s the problem? The difficulty is, the intelligence of the human body. It is a perfectly balanced bio-machine, where every small part makes a difference.

Take the humble tooth: once a tooth is lost, both root and crown, the body’s intelligence kicks into gear and adapts to the changing environment. ‘Ah’, it says to itself, ‘I’m not getting any taps on this part of the jaw anymore, obviously it’s not needed here. I’m going to resorb the bone and use the precious nutrients elsewhere.’ This is why the jawbone can lose 25% of its density after a tooth loss in first year alone. To stop this from happening, the tooth root needs to be replaced, as well as the crown. This is so the vibrations from opposite teeth tapping together can travel down the crown, into the root and to the jawbone. Then the body knows the tooth is still active and keeps rebuilding the jaw here.

There is only one form of tooth replacement that replaces tooth roots, and that’s dental implants. In Windsor, here at the Old Windsor Dental Practice, we’ve been fitting implants for years, and have seen the huge difference they’ve made to our patients’ health.

Apart from the bone density issue, having a missing tooth also affects the delicate balance of your bite. You will most likely unconsciously start to favour the side where you have all your teeth, leading to uneven wear, and possibly further tooth loss. You may also start to avoid nutritious, crunchy and chewy foods, such as apples and nuts. This dietary restriction can have an impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Dental implants in Windsor are the only tooth restoration that can offer the full chewing power of natural teeth.

One of the hazards of being an active sportsperson is the face plant. These days, it’s even more likely, what with skateboarding, mountain biking, parkour and surfing. So many fun and exciting ways to lose your teeth, and how many people bother to wear a mouth guard while somersaulting over walls and sliding down large waves? Not enough.

So, what do you do when you come a cropper and your teeth crumble into pieces? Are you going to leave a big gap in your mouth where your front teeth used to be? Not likely. Do you fancy a removable denture or a fixed bridge at your tender age? The idea of having false teeth isn’t all that appealing for young people. Even less so is the idea of kissing someone with false teeth. Thankfully, at Old Windsor Dental Practice, we can get around the issues of romance with lost teeth by replacing yours with dental implants in Windsor.

No one will know they’re not your real teeth

The great thing about dental implants in Windsor is that they are fixed into the jawbone and once treatment is complete, no one will be able to tell that these are not your original, natural teeth. There are no give-away plates or tell-tale wobbles that are going to happen. Instead, the handmade porcelain crowns of your new teeth are attached onto the dental implants in Windsor, which are titanium posts that are inserted into your jawbone.

Advantages of dental implants in Windsor

Having dental implants means that:

You will have full chewing power;

You can continue to eat whatever you want;

Your teeth will never wobble around;

There’s nothing to get in the way of kissing;

You will have an easy-to-maintain cleaning routine;

Your jawbone will remain strong where you lost your teeth;

You can save money in the long run.

One dental implant can hold up to three teeth on a bridge, which is perfect for knocked out teeth. The dentist can get them made to look just like the rest of your teeth so no one will ever know they are not your real teeth.

If you are thinking about getting dental implants in Windsor, your primary goal is obviously going to be getting new teeth. However, you may also have an idea about the kind of treatment experience you want to have and how you want to feel before, during and after the process. When we set a goal, we all have an idea of how we’d like to feel once we have achieved it. If you have a difficult journey on the way to getting the result you want, it can detrimentally affect the way you feel about it.

When you get dental implants in Windsor with Old Windsor Dental Practice, we look at the whole treatment experience and refine each step, to match it to your specific needs and expectations, wherever possible. At every stage, we want you to feel relaxed and comfortable. One of the goals of modern dentistry is to have no procedures or processes where a patient just needs to ‘grin and bear it’ until it’s over. Looking after your dental health and getting the treatments that you want should be a practical and simple process rather than an endurance test.

How do we help at each stage

At Old Windsor Dental Practice, we break down the dental implants process into various stages to make it more manageable when we discuss it with you. People often experience some trepidation when approaching the consultation stage as they don’t know what to expect. Once we have talked through the process and provided detailed explanations off the next steps, we often find our patients are immediately more relaxed.

Once we have completed your consultation and initial, information-gathering appointment, we will tell you if you need preparatory work. This doesn’t apply to everyone, but it is still quite common and nothing to worry about if you do need to go through this stage. All it means is that the environment in your mouth is not quite ready for dental implants. This might mean that you need to have repair or restoration work done on any teeth you wish to keep, or you might need extraction work to remove old teeth ready for dental implants.

It’s likely that, like many of us, you feel your imperfections more keenly than other people perceive them. However, that doesn’t make the resulting lack of confidence any less real for you. What it does mean is that you can improve your appearance, experience higher self-esteem but still not have people know exactly what you have had done. This helps you not to feel self-conscious about your adjustments. A dental treatment like dental implants in Windsor is really helpful for achieving this because the resulting restoration is so natural.

Walking you through dental implants in Windsor

At Old Windsor Dental Practice, we want to connect you with the most suitable treatment for your issue, your circumstances and your budget. If you want to have your teeth replaced, we will try and ensure that dental implants in Windsor are one of the options you can choose from. This is because implants are effective and durable as well as close to normal teeth in appearance.

A dental implant itself is usually made from a bio-compatible metal like titanium. It is screw-shaped and usually less than a centimetre in length. This part of the equipment is mostly buried within the jawbone once treatment is complete. You can just see the top or the abutment within the gumline. This is either immediately or eventually covered with a prosthetic tooth depending on the treatment course you are on. This tooth is closely matched with the colour of your other teeth so that it blends in with the rest of your smile.

Once a dental implant is in place, it is easy to care for as long as you remember how important your oral health is to the stability of your new teeth. Keeping this in mind should make you diligent enough with your daily dental routine to ensure that you have excellent oral standards. It’s always best to avoid gum disease if you can but, if you get a severe case while wearing dental implants, it can undermine your equipment and cause it to fail. We help you monitor and care for your dental implants by inviting you for regular appointments at Old Windsor Dental Practice.